ASML Shares Tumble on Weak 2025 Outlook Amid Mixed Semiconductor Market Trends
Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML announced on October 15 that its 2025 sales and bookings forecasts were lower than anticipated, resulting in the company's largest one-day share drop since 1998. Trading was halted multiple times on the Amsterdam exchange, and by 1542 GMT, shares were down 16%, closing at 668.10 euros, according to Reuters.
The company reported a net profit of 2.1 billion euros ($2.3 billion) on sales of 7.5 billion euros, slightly surpassing analyst estimates.
Despite the strong earnings, ASML’s bookings came in at just 2.6 billion euros, significantly below the forecasted range of 4 billion to 6 billion euros. This shortfall highlights ongoing challenges in parts of the semiconductor market, as demand for certain segments remains weaker than expected.
ASML pointed out that while demand for AI-related chips remains robust, other areas, particularly logic and memory chip markets, are recovering more slowly. Logic chipmakers have delayed new orders, and memory chipmakers have only planned limited capacity additions, prolonging the downturn in these segments of the market.
Meanwhile, ASML’s sales to China reached a record 2.79 billion euros in the second quarter, accounting for 47% of its total revenue. However, weaker-than-expected demand has been attributed to export restrictions on the company’s most advanced products, though Chinese chipmakers continue to invest heavily in equipment to manufacture older-generation chips.